“The reality is that there is huge opposition to the occupation of Afghanistan by the western forces and the Taliban has become a cipher for that opposition,” he said. “I think what we have to recognize is that the people of Afghanistan don’t like being occupied by western forces.”

“The longer they stay there, the stronger the Taliban gets because people see them as the main and credible opposition, and I think it is time we had a totally different political strategy in the region,” Corbyn added.

According to Britain’s Chief of Defense Staff, General David Richards, Al Qaeda and the Taliban cannot be defeated. Speaking to the Sunday Telegraph newspaper Richards argued that militants can only be contained.